My 100 Things | #44 A letter to my younger self

26 May 2015

I was scrolling through my twitter feed a while ago (many
months back in fact because it’s taken me a long time to write this letter) and
saw someone tweet ‘I wish I could tell the teenage me that hard work does pay
off’. It got me thinking….I’m only nineteen, but there is loads I wish I could
tell my younger self, loads of little nuggets of advice that would really have
helped me out at times. So I decided I would add this to my ‘100 things’ list
and write a letter to my younger self. And here it is…..

Dear young Hannah,

You’re probably looking at this thinking the older you is the
same person you are now so there is no point in reading it because she’s only
going to tell you stuff that you already know. So there is the first thing
you’re wrong about….the old you is a very different person to the 12 year old
that is reading this. The 19 year old you is writing this and she may only be
a few years older, and she doesn’t have a lot of life experience, but she has a
lot more than you right now….so sit down, grab a cup of coffee (that will
become your favourite thing so you may as well start now because you’re missing
out) and just give this a little read.

I’ll start by giving you the cold, honest truth, the next few
years will be pretty hard. That feeling of everything being unknown and losing
your way won’t go anywhere. In fact it’ll only hang around for the next couple
of years, and at times will feel much worse than it does now. But I’m telling
you this because after that, it does go away, and it will get easier. But
that’s thanks to having a plan B, so make one now, for everything, because you
never know when you might need it – infact now plan B is making you happier
than plan A ever would have done!

One day you’ll realise that self-belief and determination
will get you a long way. It is very easy to just close your eyes and hope the
world around you goes away, but it won’t, and it doesn’t need to, life’s little
challenges will turn you into a person you should be very proud of – the older
you is.

Without realising it, you say no to too many opportunities.
Don’t be afraid to say yes. It will become you’re favourite word. Life isn’t
about allowing regrets to get in the way, there are so many people that would
kill for some of the opportunites you’ve had thrown your way that you’ve let
slip through your fingers. Not big chances, you’ve grabbed hold of them and
never let them go…but just little things, don’t be afraid of something that
might never happen.

Right now, your friendships are going through a pretty tough
time. I’ll tell you why that is, because I know you spend hours sat in bed at
night trying to figure it out. You’re all changing, becoming the future you (just
to let you know, your future you is ace!) and it’s good to do that. But that
means the people you became friends with a year ago, five years ago, right back
in primary school, may have changed, and it’s not that they’re changing into
the wrong type of people, they’re just changing. If you met them now, would you
want to be friends with them? Yes? No? That’s for you to decide. But whatever
you do, make the decision for you and not for anyone else.

Now…boys! They suck. That one guy right now, you know who I’m
talking about, is pretty useless. Ditch him now. He doesn’t really give up but
if you make yourself clear he’s got too eventually. Honestly though, at
some point, love will come to you. You’ll be waiting a while because even the
older you is still waiting, but be patient. Anyway, boys are overrated! Having
said that some of your most loyal and trusted friendships will end up being
with guys, and that’s fine, because I know people say at the moment that it’s
impossible for guys and girls to just be friends, well it’s not, and it seems
to work pretty well for you.

Talking of trust and loyalty, make sure you’re that friend
that people can trust. I’d like to think that the older you is managing it OK.
Don’t let yourself be the girl people don’t want to open up to, when people
talk to you in confidence, don’t betray that. Having said that, don’t trust to
easily, people are more than a first impression. You’ll soon come to realise
that when it comes down to friends it’s quality not quantity.

And finally, don’t let life’s big moments define who are you –
it’s as much about the little achievements as it is anything else. Stay true to
yourself, don't try to be someone else, stand by your decisions, don’t be afraid to be wrong, forgive but don't forget, and wake up
every morning with a smile on your face, because life is good and there is so
much to smile about!

3 comments

Great post :) We're constantly changing from one moment to the next, growing and developing and somewhat evolving. We're constantly changing and we shouldn't try and be that person that we were 5 minutes ago.